Building IoT Connected Devices at Digital Matter

Stock of our new “Falcon” housing is on its way from our Chinese plastics factory.

We have been asked repeatedly for an “Oyster device but with external sensors”. The Falcon housing has been designed in response to this demand.

It is a compact IP67 housing so has a seal similar to the Oyster housing, but it caters for up to 2 x PG7 grommets and 1 x SMA connector to be mounted on the flat side of the housing. This way we can cater for external wiring and retain the waterproof nature of the housing.

It is large enough to accommodate 3 x AA cell batteries on a PCB – similar to the Oyster. It can (and will) also be used in devices that are externally powered, so lose the 3 x AA batteries and replace with a Li-Po backup battery pack for example.

The screw terminals make it really easy to wire up in the field. It has space under the PCB to cater for a GPS module + antenna (that will face the sky when the device is mounted!)

Below is a CAD snapshot of a work-in-progress prototype using the Falcon housing. The idea for the “SensorNode” is a low cost device able to handle pulse-counting and digital inputs, analogue inputs, and I2C sensors – the initial one being a rugged temperature sensor probe.